!  PS1552 

Lea 

l89-? 

ENDOWED  BY  THE 
DIALECTIC  AND  PHILANTHROPIC 


SOCIETIES 

PS  1552 

.C8 

189-? 

Digitized  by 

the  Internet  Archive 

in  2014 

https://archive.org/details/culpritfayOOdrak_0 


Zhc  Culprit  tfa^ 

Joseph  •Rodman  Drake 


Hew  H?ork  an&  Xon&on 

®>  p.  putnam'6  Song 

Ubc  Tfcnicfterbocfeer  press 


• 


THE  CULPRIT  FAY 


"  My  visual  orbs  are  purged  from  film,  and,  lo! 
Instead  of  A  nster's  turnip -bearing  vales 
I  see  old  fairyland 's  miraculous  show  ! 

Her  trees  of  tinsel  kissed  by  freakish  gales, 
Her  Ouphs  that,  cloaked  in  leaf  gold,  skim  the  breeze. 
And  fairies ,  swarming   .    .    .  " 

— Tennant's  "  Anster  Fair." 


THE  CULPRIT  FAY. 

BY  JOSEPH  RODMAN  DRAKE. 
I. 

'T  is  the  middle  watch  of  a  summer 
night — 

The  earth  is  dark,  but  the  heavens  are 
bright ; 

Naught  is  seen  in  the  vault  on  high 
But  the  moon,  and  the  stars,  and  the 

cloudless  sky, 
And  the  flood  which  rolls  its  milky 

hue, 

A  river  of  light  on  the  welkin  blue. 
The  moon  looks  down  on  old  Cronest, 


Gbe  Culprit  ffag  9 


She  mellows  the  shades  on  his  shaggy 
breast, 

And  seems  his  huge  gray  form  to  throw 
In  a  silver  cone  on  the  wave  below  ; 
His  sides  are  broken  by  spots  of  shade, 
By  the  walnut  bough  and  the  cedar 
made, 

And  through  their  clustering  branches 
dark 

Glimmers  and  dies  the  fire-fly's  spark — 
Like  starry  twinkles  that  momently 
break 

Through  the  rifts  of  the  gathering 
tempest's  rack. 


XLhc  Culprit  #a£  n 


ii. 

The  stars  are  on  the  moving  stream, 
And  fling,  as  its  ripples  gently  flow, 

A  burnished  length  of  wavy  beam 
In  an  eel-like,  spiral  line  below  ; 

The  winds  are  whist,  and  the  owl  is  still, 
The  bat  in  the  shelvy  rock  is  hid  ; 

And  naught  is  heard  on  the  lonely  hill 

But  the  cricket's  chirp,  and  the  answer 
shrill 

Of  the  gauze-winged  katydid  ; 
And  the  plaint  of  the  wailing  whip- 
poorwill, 


Gbe  Culprit  3fa£  13 


Who  moans   unseen,   and  ceaseless 
sings, 

Ever  a  note  of  wail  and  woe, 
Till  morning  spreads  her  rosy  wings, 
And  earth  and  sky  in  her  glances 
glow. 

in. 

'T  is  the  hour  of  fairy  ban  and  spell ; 
The  wood-tick  has  kept  the  minutes 
well ; 

He  has  counted  them  all  with  click 

and  stroke 
Deep  in  the  heart  of  the  mountain-oak, 
And  he  has  awakened  the  sentry  elve 


ttbe  Culprit  jfag  15 


Who  sleeps  with  him  in  the  haunted 
tree, 

To  bid  him  ring  the  hour  of  twelve, 
And  call  the  fays  to  their  revelry  ; 
Twelve  small  strokes  on  his  tinkling 
bell— 

('T  was  made  of  the  white  snail's  pearly 
shell)  ; 

"  Midnight  comes,  and  all  is  well  ! 
Hither,,  hither,  wing  your  way  ! 
'T  is  the  dawn  of  the  fairy  day." 


Gbe  Culprit  jfag  17 


They  come  from  beds  of  lichen  green, 
They  creep  from  the  mullen's  velvet 
screen ; 

Some  on  the  backs  of  beetles  fly 

From  the  silver  tops  of  moon-touched 

trees, 

Where  they  swung  in  their  cobweb 
hammocks  high, 
And  rocked  about  in  the  evening 
breeze  ; 

Some   from    the   humbird's  downy 
nest — 


Zbc  Culprit  ffag  19 


They  had  driven  him  out  by  elfin 
power, 

And,  pillowed  on  plumes  of  his  rain- 
bow breast, 
Had  slumbered  there  till  the  charmed 
hour  ; 

Some  had  lain  in  the  scoop  of  the  rock, 
With  glittering  ising-stars  inlaid  ; 

And  some  had  opened  the  four-o'clock, 
And  stole  within  its  purple  shade. 

And  now  they  throng  the  moonlight 
glade, 

Above — below — on  every  side, 
Their  little  minim  forms  arrayed 
In  the  tricksy  pomp  of  fairy  pride  ! 


Zbe  Culprit  afag  21 


v. 

They  come  not  now  to  print  the  lea, 
In  freak  and  dance  around  the  tree, 
Or  at  the  mushroom  board  to  sup, 
And  drink  the  dew  from  the  butter- 
cup ;— 

A  scene  of  sorrow  waits  them  now, 
For  an  Ouphe  has  broken  his  vestal 
vow ; 

He  has  loved  an  earthly  maid, 
And  left  for  her  his  woodland  shade  ; 
He  has  lain  upon  her  lip  of  dew, 
And  sunned  him  in  her  eye  of  blue, 


Zbc  Culprit  Jag  23 


Fanned  her  cheek  with  his  wing  of  air, 
Played  in  the  ringlets  of  her  hair, 
And,  nestling  on  her  snowy  breast, 
Forgot  the  lily-king's  behest. 
For  this  the  shadowy  tribes  of  air 

To  the  elfin  court  must  haste  away; — ■ 
And  now  they  stand  expectant  there, 

To  hear  the  doom  of  the  culprit  Fay. 

VI. 

The  throne  was  reared  upon  the  grass. 
Of  spice- wood  and  of  sassafras  ; 
On  pillars  of  mottled  tortoise-shell 

Hung  the  burnished  canopy — 
And  over  it  gorgeous  curtains  fell 


Gbe  Culprit  jfa#  25 


Of  the  tulip's  crimson  drapery. 
The  monarch  sat  on  his  judgment-seat, 
On  his  brow  the  crown  imperial 
shone. 

The  prisoner  Fay  was  at  his  feet, 
And  his  peers  were  ranged  around 
the  throne. 
He  waved  his  sceptre  in  the  air, 

He  looked  around  and  calmly  spoke  ; 
His  brow  was  grave  and  his  eye  severe, 
But  his  voice  in  a  softened  accent 
broke  : 


Gbe  Culprit  afas  27 


VII. 

"  Fairy  !  fairy  list  and  mark  : 

Thou  hast  broke  thine  elfin  chain  ; 
Thy  flame-wood  lamp  is  quenched  and 
dark, 

And  thy  wings  are  dyed  with  a 

deadly  stain — 
Thou  hast  sullied  thine  elfin  purity 
In  the  glance  of  a  mortal  maiden's 

eye, 

Thou  hast  scorned  our  dread  decree, 
And  thou  shouldst  pay  the  forfeit 
high. 


Gbe  Culprit  ffas  29 


But  well  I  know  her  sinless  mind 

Is  pure  as  the  angel  forms  above, 
Gentle   and  meek,  and  chaste  and 
kind, 

Such  as  a  spirit  well  might  love  ; 
Fairy  !  had  she  spot  or  taint, 
Bitter  had  been  thy  punishment. 
Tied  to  hornet's  shardy  wings  ; 
Tossed  on  the  pricks  of  nettle's  stings ; 
Or  seven  long  ages  doomed  to  dwell 
With  the  lazy  worm  in  the  walnut- 
shell  ; 

Or  every  night  to  writhe  and  bleed 
Beneath  the  tread  of  the  centipede  ; 
Or  bound  in  a  cobweb  dungeon  dim, 
Your  jailer  a  spider  huge  and  grim, 


Zhc  Culprit  afag  31 


Amid  the  carrion  bodies  to  lie, 

Of  the  worm,  and  the  bug,  and  the 

murdered  fly : 
These  it  had  been  your  lot  to  bear, 
Had  a  stain  been  found  on  the  earthly 

fair. 

Now  list,  and  mark  our  mild  decree- 
Fairy,  this  your  doom  must  be : 


VIII. 

"  Thou  shalt  seek  the  beach  of  sand 
Where  the  water  bounds  the  elfin  land  ; 
Thou  shalt  watch  the  oozy  brine 
Till  the  sturgeon  leaps  in  the  bright 
moonshine. 


Zhc  Culprit  3Fav>  33 

Then  dart  the  glistening  arch  below, 
And  catch  a  drop  from  his  silver  bow. 
The  water-sprites  will  wield  their  arms 
And  dash  around,  and  roar  and  rave, 
And  vain  are  the  woodland  spirits' 
charms, 

They  are  the  imps  that  rule  the  wave. 
Yet  trust  thee  in  thy  single  might : 
If  thy  heart  be  pure  and  thy  spirit 
right, 

Thou  shalt  win  the  warlock  fight. 


£be  Culprit  35 


IX. 

If  the  spray-bead  gem  be  won, 
The  stain  of  thy  wing  is  washed 
away  : 

But  another  errand  must  be  done 

Ere  thy  crime  be  lost  for  aye  ; 
Thy  flame- wood  lamp  is  quenched  and 
dark, 

Thou  must  reillume  its  spark. 
Mount  thy  steed  and  spur  him  high 
To  the  heaven's  blue  canopy  • 
And  when  thou  see'st  a  shooting-star, 
Follow  it  fast,  and  follow  it  far— 


ftbe  Culprit  ffag  37 


The  last  faint  spark  of  its  burning 
train 

Shall  light  the  elfin  lamp  again. 
Thou  hast  heard  our  sentence,  Fay  ; 
Hence  !  to  the  water-side,  away  !  " 

x. 

The  goblin  marked  his  monarch  well ; 

He  spake  not,  but  he  bowed  him  low, 
Then  plucked  a  crimson  colen-bell, 

And  turned  him  round  in  act  to  go. 
The  way  is  long,  he  cannot  fly, 

His  soiled  wing  has  lost  its  power, 
And  he  winds  adown  the  mountain 
high, 


Gbe  Culprit  ffas  39 


For  many  a  sore  and  weary  hour. 
Through  dreary  beds  of  tangled  fern, 
Through  groves  of  night-shade  dark 
and  dern, 

Over  the  grass  and  through  the  brake, 
Where  toils  the  ant  and  sleeps  the 
snake ; 

Now  over  the  violet's  azure  flush 
He  skips  along  in  lightsome  mood ; 

And  now  he  thrids  the  bramble-bush, 
Till  its  points  are  dyed  in  fairy 
blood. 

He  has  leaped  the  bog,  he  has  pierced 
the  brier, 

He  has  swum  the  brook,  and  waded 
the  mire, 


Zhc  Culprit  ffa£  41 


Till  his  spirits  sank,  and  his  limbs 

grew  weak, 
And  the  red  waxed  fainter  in  his 

cheek. 

He  had  fallen  to  the  ground  outright, 
For  rugged  and  dim  was  his  onward 
track, 

But  there  came  a  spotted  toad  in  sight, 
And  he  laughed  as  he  jumped  upon 

her  back  : 
He  bridled  her  mouth  with  a  silkweed 

twist, 

He  lashed  her  sides  with  an  osier 
thong ; 

And  now,  through  evening's  dewy 
mist, 


Gbe  Culprit  Jag  43 


With  leap  and  spring  they  bound 
along, 

Till  the  mountain's  magic  verge  is 
past, 

And  the  beach  of  sand  is  reached  at 
last. 


XI. 

Soft  and  pale  is  the  moony  beam, 
Moveless  still  the  glassy  stream  ; 
The  wave  is  clear,  the  beach  is  bright 
With  snowy  shells  and  sparkling 
stones ; 

The  shore  -  surge  comes  in  ripples 
light, 


Zbc  Culprit  3fa£  45 


In  murmurings  faint  and  distant 
moans  ; 

And  ever  afar  in  the  silence  deep 
Is  heard  the  splash  of  the  sturgeon's 
leap, 

And  the  bend  of  his  graceful  bow  is 
seen — 

A  glittering  arch  of  silver  sheen, 
Spanning  the  wave  of  burnished  blue, 
And  dripping  with  gems  of  the  river 
dew. 


Gbe  Culprit  ffag  47 


XII. 

The  elfin  cast  a  glance  around, 

As  he  lighted  down  from  his  courser 
toad, 

Then  round  his  breast  his  wings  he 
wound, 

And  close  to  the  river's  brink  he 
strode  ; 

He  sprang  on  a  rock,  he  breathed  a 
prayer, 

Above    his    head    his    arms  he 
threw, 


the  Culprit  jfag  49 


Then  tossed  a  tiny  curve  in  air, 

And  headlong  plunged  in  the  waters 
blue. 

XIII. 

Up  sprung  the  spirits  of  the  waves, 
From  the  sea-silk  beds  in  their  coral 
caves, 

With  snail-plate  armor  snatched  in 
haste, 

They  speed  their  way  through  the 

liquid  waste ; 
Some  are  rapidly  borne  along 
On  the  mailed  shrimp  or  the  prickly 

prong, 


Cbe  Culprit  jfag  51 


Some  on  the  blood-red  leeches  glide, 
Some  on  the  stony  starfish  ride, 
Some  on  the  back  of  the  lancing  squab, 
Some  on  the  sideling  soldier  crab ; 
And  some  on  the  jellied  quarl,  that 
flings 

At  once  a  thousand  streamy  stings  ; 
They  cut  the  wave  with  the  living  oar, 
And  hurry  on  to  the  moonlight  shore, 
To  guard  their  realms  and  chase  away 
The  footsteps  of  the  invading  Fay. 


Gbe  Culprit  jfag  53 


XIV. 

Fearlessly  he  skims  along, 
His  hope  is  high,  and  his  limbs  are 
strong, 

He  spreads  his  arms  like  the  swallow's 
wing, 

And  throws  his  feet  with  a  frog-like 
fling; 

His  locks  of  gold  on  the  waters  shine, 
At  his  breast  the  tiny  foam-beads  rise, 
His  back  gleams  bright  above  the 
brine, 


Gbe  Culprit  3fa£  55 


And  the  wake-line  foam  behind  him 
lies. 

But  the  water-sprites  are  gathering 
near 

To  check  his  course  along  the  tide  ; 
Their  warriors  come  in  swift  career 

And  hem  him  round  on  every  side ; 
On  his  thigh  the  leech  has  fixed  his 
hold, 

The  quad's  long  arms  are  round  him 
rolled, 

The  prickly  prong  has  pierced  his  skin, 
And  the  squab  has  thrown  his  javelin, 
The  gritty  star  has  rubbed  him  raw, 
And  the  crab  has  struck  with  his  giant 
claw ; 


Gbe  Culprit  jfa£  57 

He  howls  with  rage,  and  he  shrieks 

with  pain, 
He  strikes  around,  but  his  blows  are 

vain ; 

Hopeless  is  the  unequal  fight, 
Fairy  !  naught  is  left  but  flight. 

XV. 

He  turned  him  round,  and  fled  amain 
With  hurry  and  dash  to  the  beach 
again, 

He  twisted  over  from  side  to  side, 
And  laid  his  cheek  to  the  cleaving  tide ; 
The  strokes  of  his  plunging  arms  are 
fleet, 


Gbe  Culprit  jfa£  59 


And  with  all  his  might  he  flings  his 
feet, 

But  the  water-sprites  are  round  him 
still, 

To  cross  his  path  and  work  him  ill. 

They  bade  the  wave  before  him  rise ; 

They  flung  the  sea-fire  in  his  eyes, 

And  they  stunned  his  ears  with  the 
scallop-stroke, 

With  the  porpoise  heave  and  the  drum- 
fish  croak. 

Oh  !  but  a  weary  wight  was  he 

When  he  reached  the  foot  of  the  dog- 
wood tree. 

— Gashed  and  wounded,  and  stiff  and 
sore, 


Gbe  Culprit  3fa£  61 


He  laid  him  down  on  the  sandy  shore  ; 
He  blessed  the  force  of  the  charmed 
line, 

And  he  banned  the  water-goblin' s  spite, 
For  he  saw  around  in  the  sweet  moon- 
shine 

Their  little  wee  faces  above  the  brine, 
Giggling  and  laughing  with  all  their 
might 

At  the  piteous  hap  of  the  Fairy  wight. 


TTbe  Culprit  jfa$  63 


XVI. 

Soon  he  gathered  the  balsam  dew 
From  the  sorrel-leaf  and  the  henbane 
bud  ; 

Over  each  wound  the  balm  he  drew, 
And  with  cobweb  lint  he  stanched 

the  blood. 
The  mild  west  wind  was  soft  and  low, 
It  cooled  the  heat  of  his  burning  brow, 
And  he  felt  new  life  in  his  sinews  shoot, 
As  he  drank  the  juice  of  the  calamus 

root; 


tTbe  Culprit  ffa£  65 


And  now  he  treads  the  fatal  shore, 
As  fresh  and  vigorous  as  before. 


XVII. 

Wrapped  in  musing  stands  the  sprite  : 
'T  is  the  middle  wane  of  night ; 
His  task  is  hard,  his  way  is  far, 

But  he  must  do  his  errand  right 
Ere  dawning  mounts  her  beamy  car, 

And  rolls  her  chariot  wheels  of  light  j 
And  vain  are  the  spells  of  fairy  land  ; 
He  must  work  with  a  human  hand. 


Zbc  Culprit  3Fa£  67 


XVIII. 

He  cast  a  saddened  look  around, 

But  he  felt  new  joy  his  bosom  swell, 
When,   glittering  on  the  shadowed 
ground, 
He  saw  a  purple  mussel-shell ; 
Thither  he  ran,  and  he  bent  him  low, 
He  heaved  at  the  stern  and  he  heaved 

at  the  bow, 
And  he  pushed  her  over  the  yielding 
sand, 

Till  he  came  to  the  verge  of  the 
haunted  land. 


Zhe  Culprit  ffa£  69 


She  was  as  lovely  a  pleasure-boat 

As  ever  fairy  had  paddled  in, 
For  she  glowed  with  purple  paint  with- 
out. 

And  shone  with  silvery  pearl  within ; 

A  sculler's  notch  in  the  stern  he  made, 

An  oar  he  shaped  of  the  bootle-blade  ; 

Then  sprung  to  his  seat  with  a  light- 
some leap, 

And  launched  afar  on  the  calm,  blue 
deep. 


Cbe  Culprit  fas  71 


XIX. 

The  imps  of  the  river  yell  and  rave  ; 
They  had  no  power  above  the  wave, 
But  they  heaved  the  billow  before  the 
prow, 

And  they  dashed  the  surge  against  her 
side, 

And  they  struck  her  keel  with  jerk  and 
blow, 

Till  the  gunwale  bent  to  the  rocking 
tide. 

She  wimpled  about  to  the  pale  moon- 
beam, 


Zhc  Culprit  ffa£  73 

Like  a  feather  that  floats  on  a  wind- 
tossed  stream  ; 
And  momently  athwart  her  track, 
The  quarl  upreared  his  island  back, 
And    the  fluttering   scallop  behind 

would  float, 
And  patter  the  water  about  the  boat ; 
But  he  bailed  her  out  with  his  colen- 
bell, 

And  he  kept  her  trimmed  with  a 
wary  tread, 
While  on  every  side  like  lightning  fell 
The  heavy  strokes  of  his  bootle-blade. 


Gbe  Culprit  3fa£  75 


xx. 

Onward  still  lie  held  his  way, 

Till  he  came  where  the  column  of 

moonshine  lay, 
And  saw  beneath  the  surface  dim 
The  brown-backed  sturgeon  slowly 

swim ; 

Around  him  were  the  goblin  train — 
But  he  sculled  with  all  his  might  and 
main, 

And  followed  wherever  the  sturgeon 
led, 

Till  he  saw  him  upward  point  his  head ; 


Zbc  Culprit  ffag  77 

Then  he  dropped  his  paddle-blade, 

And  held  his  colen  goblet  up 

To  catch  the  drop  in  its  crimson  cup. 

XXI. 

With  sweeping  tail  and  quivering  fin, 

Through  the  wave  the  sturgeon  flew, 
And,  like  the  heaven-shot  javelin, 

He  sprung  above  the  waters  blue. 
Instant  as  the  star-fall  light 

He  plunged  him  in  the  deep  again, 
But  left  an  arch  of  silver  bright, 

The  rainbow  of  the  moony  main. 
It  was  a  strange  and  lovely  sight 

To  see  the  puny  goblin  there ; 


Gbe  Culprit  3fag  79 


He  seemed  an  angel  form  of  light, 

With  azure  wing  and  sunny  hair, 
Throned  on  a  cloud  of  purple  fair, 
Circled  with  blue  and  edged  with 
white, 

And  sitting  at  the  fall  of  even 
Beneath  the  bow"  of  summer  heaven. 


XXII. 

A  moment,  and  its  lustre  fell ; 

But  ere  it  met  the  billow  blue, 
He  caught  within  his  crimson  bell 

A  droplet  of  its  sparkling  dew — 
Joy  to  thee,  Fay  !  thy  task  is  done, 


Zhc  Culprit  JFag  81 


Thy  wings  are  pure,  for  the  gem  is 
won — 

Cheerly  ply  thy  dripping  oar, 
And  haste  away  to  the  elfin  shore. 


XXIII. 

He  turns,  and  lo  !  on  either  side 
The  ripples  on  his  path  divide  ; 
And  the  track  o'er  which  his  boat  must 
pass 

Is  smooth  as  a  sheet  of  polished  glass. 
Around,  their  limbs  the  sea-nymphs 
lave, 

With  snowy  arms  half  swelling  out, 
While  on  the  glossed  and  gleamy  wave 


Zbc  Culprit  ffag  83 


Their  sea-green  ringlets  loosely  float ; 
They  swim  around  with  smile  and 
song  ; 

They  press  the  bark  with  pearly 
hand, 

And  gently  urge  her  course  along, 
Toward  the  beach  of  speckled  sand  ; 

And,  as  he  lightly  leaped  to  land, 
They  bade  adieu  with  nod  and  bow, 

Then  gayly  kissed  each  little  hand, 
And  dropped  in  the  crystal  deep 
below. 


ttbe  Culprit  dfag 


B5 


XXIV. 

A  tnoment  stayed  the  fairy  there ; 
He  kissed  the  beach  and  breathed  a 
prayer  ; 

Then  spread  his  wings  of  gilded  blue, 
And  on  to  the  elfin  court  he  flew  ; 
As  ever  ye  saw  a  bubble  rise, 
And  shine  with  a  thousand  changing 
dyes, 

Till,    lessening    far,    through  ether 
driven, 

It  mingles  with  the  hues  of  heaven  ; 
As,  at  the  glimpse  of  morning  pale, 


Gbe  Culprit  ffa^  87 

The  lance-fly  spreads  his  silken  sail, 
And  gleams  with  blendings  soft  and 
bright, 

Till  lost  in  the  shades  of  fading  night ; 
So  rose  from  earth  the  lovely  Fay — 
So  vanished,  far  in  heaven  away  ! 

Up,  Fairy  !  quit  thy  chickwTeed  bower, 
The  cricket  has  called  the  second  hour, 
Twice  again,  and  the  lark  will  rise 
To  kiss  the  streaking  of  the  skies — 
Up  !  thy  charmed  armor  don, 
Thou  'It  need  it  ere  the  night  be  gone. 


XLbc  Culprit  3Fag  89 


xxv. 

He  put  his  acorn  helmet  on  ; 
It  was  plumed  of  the  silk  of  the  thistle- 
down ; 

The  corslet  plate  that  guarded  his 
breast 

Was  once  the  wild  bee's  golden  vest ; 
His  cloak,  of  a  thousand  mingled  dyes, 
Was  formed  of  the  wings  of  butter- 
flies ; 

His  shield  was  the  shell  of  a  lady-bug 
queen, 

Studs  of  gold  on  a  ground  of  green  ; 


Gbe  Culprit  3Fa£  91 

And  the  quivering  lance  which  he 

brandished  bright, 
Was  the  sting  of  a  wasp  he  had  slain 
in  fight. 

Swift  he  bestrode  his  fire-fly  steed ; 
He  bared  his  blade  of  the  bent-grass 
blue ; 

He  drove  his  spurs  of  the  cockle-seed, 
And  away  like  a  glance  of  thought 
he  flew, 

To  skim  the  heavens  and  follow  far 
The  fiery  trail  of  the  rocket-star. 


Gbe  Culprit  jFag  93 


XXVI. 

The  moth-fly,  as  he  shot  in  air, 
Crept  under  the  leaf,  and  hid  her  there ; 
The  katy-did  forgot  its  lay, 
The  prowling  gnat  fled  fast  away, 
The  fell  mosquito  checked  his  drone, 
And  folded  his  wings  till  the  Fay  was 
gone, 

And  the  wily  beetle  dropped  his  head, 
And  fell  on  the  ground  as  if  he  were 
dead  ; 

They  crouched  them  close  in  the  dark- 
some shade, 


XLhc  Culprit  ffag  95 


They  quaked  all  o'er  with  awe  and 
fear, 

For  they  had  felt  the  blue-bent  blade, 
And  writhed  at  the  prick  of  the 
elfin  spear  ; 

Many  a  time,  on  a  summer's  night, 

When  the  sky  was  clear  and  the  moon 
was  bright, 

They  had  been  roused  from  the  haunt- 
ed ground 

By  the  yelp  and  bay  of  the  fairy 
hound ; 

They  had  heard  the  tiny  bugle-horn, 
They  had  heard  the  twang  of  the 
maize-silk  string, 


Zbc  Culprit  jfag  97 


When  the  vine-twig  bows  were  tightly 
drawn, 

And  the  needle-shaft  through  air  was 
borne, 

Feathered  with  down  of  the  humbird's 
wing. 

And  now  they  deemed  the  courier 
Ouphe, 

Some   hunter-sprite   of  the  elfin 
ground ; 

And  they  watched  till  they  saw  him 
mount  the  roof 
That  canopies  the  world  around  ; 
Then  glad  they  left  their  covert  lair, 
And  freaked  about  in  the  midnight  air. 


Gbe  Culprit  Jag  99 


XXVII. 

Up  to  the  vaulted  firmament 
His  path  the  fire-fly  courser  bent, 
And  at  every  gallop  on  the  wind, 
He  flung  a  glittering  spark  behind ; 
He  flies  like  a  feather  in  the  blast 
Till  the  first  light  cloud  in  heaven  is 
past. 

But  the  shapes  of  air  have  begun  their 
work, 

And  a  drizzly  mist  is  round  him  cast, 
He  cannot  see  through  the  mantle 
murk, 


tTbe  Culprit  3Fag  101 


He  shivers  with  cold  but  he  urges 
fast ; 

Through  storm  and  darkness,  sleet 

and  shade, 
He  lashes  his  steed  and  spurs  amain, 
For  shadowy  hands  have  twitched 

the  rein, 

And  flame-shot  tongues  around  him 
played, 

And  near  him  many  a  fiendish  eye 
Glared  with  a  fell  malignity, 
And  yells  of  rage,  and  shrieks  of  fear, 
Came  screaming  on  his  startled  ear. 


XLhc  Culprit  ffas  103 


XXVIII. 

His  wings  are  wet  around  his  breast, 
The  plume  hangs  dripping  from  his 
crest, 

His  eyes  are  blurred  with  the  light- 
ning's glare, 

And  his  ears  are  stunned  with  the 
thunder's  blare, 

But  he  gave  a  shout,  and  his  blade  he 
drew, 

He  thrust  before  and  he  struck 
behind, 


Zbc  Culprit  3Fa£ 


105 


Till-  he  pierced  their  cloudy  bodies 
through, 

And  gashed  their  shadowy  limbs  of 
wind  ; 

Howling  the  misty  spectres  flew, 
They  rend  the  air  with  frightful  cries, 

For  he  has  gained  the  welkin  blue, 
And  the  land  of  clouds  beneath  him 
lies. 


XXIX. 

Up  to  the  cope  careering  swift, 
In  breathless  motion  fast, 

Fleet  as  the  swallow  cuts  the  drift, 
Or  the  sea-roc  rides  the  blast, 


Zhc  Culprit  3Fa£  107 


The  sapphire  sheet  of  eve  is  shot, 

The  sphered  moon  is  past, 
The  earth  but  seems  a  tiny  blot 

On  a  sheet  of  azure  cast. 
Oh !  it  was  sweet,  in  the  clear  moon- 
light, 

To  tread  the  starry  plain  of  even, 
To  meet  the  thousand  eyes  of  night, 
And  feel  the  cooling  breath  of 
heaven  ! 

But  the  elfin  made  no  stop  or  stay 
Till  he  came  to  the  bank  of  the  milky- 
way, 

Then  he  checked  his  courser's  foot, 
And  watched  for  the  glimpse  of  the 
planet-shoot. 


Zhe  Culprit  ffag  109 


xxx. 

Sudden  along  the  snowy  tide 

That  swelled  to  meet  their  footsteps* 
fall, 

The  sylphs  of  heaven  were  seen  to  glide, 

Attired  in  sunset's  crimson  pall ; 
Around  the  Fay  they  weave  the  dance, 

They  skip  before  him  on  the  plain, 
And  one  has  taken  his  wasp-sting  lance, 

And  one  upholds  his  bridle-rein  ; 
With  warblings  wild  they  lead  him  on 

To  where,  through  clouds  of  amber 
seen, 


tlbe  Culprit  afag  m 


Studded  with  stars,  resplendent  shone 

The  palace  of  the  sylphid  queen. 
Its  spiral  columns,  gleaming  bright, 
Were  streamers  of  the  northern  light ; 
Its  curtain's  light  and  lovely  flush 
Was  of  the  morning's  rosy  blush  ; 
And  the  ceiling  fair  that  rose  aboon, 
The  white  and  feathery  fleece  of  noon. 


XXXI. 

But,  Oh  !  how  fair  the  shape  that  lay 
Beneath  a  rainbow  bending  bright ; 

She  seemed  to  the  entranced  Fay 
The  loveliest  of  the  forms  of  light ; 


Gbe  Culprit  jFag  113 


Her  mantle  was  the  purple  rolled 

At  twilight  in  the  west  afar  ; 
'T  was  tied  with  threads  of  dawning 
gold, 

And  buttoned  with  a  sparkling  star. 
Her  face  was  like  the  lily  roon 

That  veils  the  vestal  planet's  hue  ; 
Her  eyes,  two  beamlets  from  the  moon. 

Set  floating  in  the  welkin  blue. 
Her  hair  is  like  the  sunny  beam, 
And  the  diamond  gems  which  round  it 
gleam 

Are  the  pure  drops  of  dewy  even 
That  ne'er  have  left  their  native  heaven. 


tLbe  Culprit  ffag  115 


XXXII. 

She  raised  her  eyes  to  the  wondering 
sprite, 

And  they  leaped  with  smiles,  for 

well  I  ween 
Never  before  in  the  bowers  of  light 
Had  the  form  of  an  earthly  Fay  been 

seen. 

Long  she  looked  in  his  tiny  face  ; 
Long  with  his  butterfly  cloak  she 
played ; 

She  smoothed  his    wings  of  azure 
lace, 


Zbc  Culprit  jfag  117 


And  handled  the  tassel  of  his  blade  ; 
And  as  he  told  in  accents  low 
The  story  of  his  love  and  woe, 
She  felt  new  pains  in  her  bosom  rise ; 
And  the  tear-drop  started  in  her  eyes. 
And  "O  sweet  spirit  of  earth,' '  she 
cried, 

* '  Return  no  more  to  your  woodland 
height, 

But  ever  here  with  me  abide 
In  the  land  of  everlasting  light ! 

Within  the  fleecy  drift  we  '11  lie, 

We  '11  hang  upon  the  rainbow's  rim  ; 

And  all  the  jewels  of  the  sky 

Around   thy  brow  shall  brightly 
beam ! 


Zhc  Culprit  ffa£  119 


And  thou  shalt  bathe  thee  in  the 
stream 

That  rolls  its  whitening  foam  aboon, 
And  ride  upon  the  lightning's  gleam, 

And  dance  upon  the  orbed  moon  ! 
We  '11  sit  within  the  Pleiad  ring, 

We  '11  rest  on  Orion's  starry  belt, 
And  I  will  bid  my  sylphs  to  sing 

The  song  that  makes  the  dew-mist 
melt ; 

Their  harps  are  of  the  umber  shade, 
That  hides  the  blush  of  waking 
day, 

And  every  gleamy  string  is  made 
Of  silvery  moonshine's  lengthened 
ray; 


Zhc  Culprit  ffag  121 


And  thou  shalt  pillow  on  my  breast, 
While   heavenly   breathings  float 
around, 

And,  with  the  sylphs  of  ether  blest, 
Forget  the  joys  of  fairy  ground." 

XXXIII. 

She  was  lovely  and  fair  to  see, 
And  the  elfin's  heart  beat  fitfully  ; 
But  lovelier  far  and  still  more  fair, 
The  earthly  form  imprinted  there  ; 
Naught  he  saw  in  the  heavens  above 
Was  half  so  dear  as  his  mortal  love, 
For  he  thought  upon  her  looks  so 
meek, 


Gbe  Cirtpnt  jfa£  123 


And  he  thought  of  the  light  flush  on 

her  cheek ; 
Never  again  might  he  bask  and  lie 
On  that  sweet  face  and  moonlight  eye, 
But  in  his  dreams  her  form  to  see, 
To  clasp  her  in  his  revery, 
To  think  upon  his  virgin  bride, 
Was  worth  all  heaven,  and  earth  beside. 


xxxiv. 

"  L,ady,"  he  cried,  "  I  have  sworn  to- 
night, 

On  the  word  of  a  fairy  knight, 
To  do  my  sentence-task  aright ; 
My  honor  scarce  is  free  from  stain, 


Gbe  Culprit  ffa£  125 


I  may  not  soil  its  snows  again  ; 
Betide  me  weal,  betide  me  woe, 
Its  mandate  must  be  answered  now." 
Her  bosom  heaved  with  many  a  sigh, 
The  tear  was  in  her  drooping  eye  ; 
But  she  led  him  to  the  palace  gate, 
And  called  the  sylphs  who  hovered 
there, 

And  bade  them  fly  and  bring  him 
straight 

Of  clouds  condensed  a  sable  car. 
With  charm  and  spell  she  bless' d  it 
there, 

From  all  the  fiends  of  upper  air  ; 
Then  round  him  cast  the  shadowy 
shroud, 


^be  Culprit  3fa£  I27 


And  tied  his  steed  behind  the  cloud  ; 
And  pressed  his  hand  as  she  bade  him 
fly 

Far  to  the  verge  of  the  northern  sky, 
For  by  its  wan  and  wavering  light 
There  was  a  star  would  fall  to-night. 

XXXV. 

Borne  afar  on  the  wings  of  the  blast, 
Northward  away  he  speeds  him  fast, 
And  his  courser  follows  the  cloudy  wain 
Till  the  hoof-strokes  fall  like  pattering 
rain. 

The  clouds  roll  backward  as  he  flies, 
Fach  flickering  star  behind  him  lies, 


tLhc  Culprit  jfag  129 


And  he  has  reached  the  northern  plain, 
And  backed  his  fire-fly  steed  again, 
Ready  to  follow  in  its  flight 
The  streaming  of  the  rocket-light. 

XXXVT. 

The  star  is  yet  in  the  vault  of  heaven, 
But  it  rocks  in  the  summer  gale  ; 

And  now  'tis  fitful  and  uneven, 
And  now  't  is  deadly  pale  ; 

And  now  't  is  wrapped  in  sulphur 
smoke, 

And  quenched  is  its  rayless  beam, 
And  now  with  a  rattling  thunder-stroke 
It  bursts  in  flash  and  flame. 


ftbe  Culprit  ffa£  131 


As  swift  as  the  glance  of  the  arrowy 
lance 

That  the  storm-spirit  flings  from  high , 
The  star-shot  flew  o'er  the  welkin  blue, 

As  it  fell  from  the  sheeted  sky. 
As  swift  as  the  wind  in  its  trail  behind 

The  elfin  gallops  along, 
The  fiends  of  the  clouds  are  bellowing 
loud, 

But  the  sylphid  charm  is  strong  ; 
He  gallops  unhurt  in  the  shower  of  fire, 
While  the  cloud-fiends  fly  from  the 
blaze, 

He  watches  each  flake  till  its  sparks 
expire, 

And  rides  in  the  light  of  its  rays. 


XLhc  Culprit  ffa£  133 


But  he  drove  his  steed  to  the  light- 
ning's speed, 
And  caught  a  glimmering  spark  ; 

Then  wheeled  around  to  the  fairy 
ground, 

And  sped  through   the  midnight 
dark. 

Ouphe  and  Goblin  !  Imp  and  Sprite  ! 

Elf  of  eve  !  and  starry  Fay  ! 
Ye  that  love  the  moon's  soft  light, 

Hither,  hither  wend  your  way  ; 
Twine  ye  in  a  jocund  ring, 

Sing  and  trip  it  merrily, 
Hand  to  hand,  and  wing  to  wing, 

Round  the  wild  witch-hazel  tree. 


Zhc  Culprit  ffa£  135 


Hail  the  wanderer  again 

With  dance  and  song,  and  lute  and 
lyre, 

Pure  his  wing  and  strong  his  chain^ 
And  doubly  bright  his  fairy  fire. 

Twine  ye  in  an  airy  round, 

Brush  the  dew  and  print  the  lea ; 

Skip  and  gambol,  hop  and  bound, 
Round  the  wild  witch-hazel  tree. 

The  beetle  guards  our  holy  ground, 
He  flies  about  the  haunted  place, 

And  if  mortal  there  be  found, 

He  hums  in  his  ears  and  flaps  his  face ; 

The  leaf-harp  sounds  our  roundelay, 
The  owlet's  eyes  our  lanterns  be  ; 


Gbe  Culprit  3fa£  137 


Thus  we  sing,  and  dance,  and  play^ 
Round  the  wild  witch-hazel  tree. 

But,  hark  !  from  tower  on  tree-top  high 
The  sentry-elf  his  call  has  made  : 

A  streak  is  in  the  eastern  sky, 

Shapes  of  moonlight !  flit  and  fade  ! 

The  hill-tops    gleam  in  morning's 
spring, 

The  skylark  shakes  his  dappled  wing, 
The  day-glimpse  glimmers  on  the  lawn, 
The  cock  has  crowed,  and  the  Fays 
are  gone. 


the  end. 


Sriel  36oofclets 


Ariel  BooKlets 

ORDER 
NUMBER 

Abelard  and  Heloise.    Letters  95 

About  Children :  What  Men  and  Women  Have  Said  116 
About  Men:  What  Women  Have  Said  ,  .  .114 
About  Women:  What  Men  Have  Said  .  .  .115 
Addison.    Sir  Roger  de  Coverley  Papers        .    .  94 

^Esop's  Fables   40 

Arabian  Nights.  6  vols  98-103 

Arnold.    Sweetness  and  Light  6 

Bacon.    Some  of  the  Essays  of   58 

Brown.  Rab  and  His  Friends,  and  Marjorie  Flem- 
ing 2 

Browne.    Religio  Medici   90 

Browning,  E.  B.  Sonnets  from  the  Portuguese  5 
Browning,  R.    Christmas  Eve,  and  Easter  Day  74 

Lyrics   10 

Bryant.    Thanatopsis,  Flood  of  Years,  etc.         .  12 

Butler.    Nothing  to  Wear   15 

Calverley.  Verses  and  Fly  Leaves  .  .  .  .  31 
Carleton.  Wild  Goose  Lodge  and  Other  Irish  Tales  77 

Carlyle.    Nibelungen  Lied   24 

Carove.    Story  without  an  End   46 

Chassimo.    Peter  Schlemihl   67 

Chesney.    Battle  of  Dorking   64 

Chesterfield.  Letters  and  Maxims  ....  66 
Cicero  and  Emerson.    On  Friendship        .    .    „  54 


ORDER 
NUMBER 


Coleridge.    Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner       .    .  16 

Concerning  Friendship    85 

Curtis.    Our  Best  Society    4 

De  Quincey.    Three  Essays    63 

Dickens.    Christmas  Carol      .......  43 

Cricket  on  the  Hearth   44 

Drake.    Culprit  Fay    3 

Edgeworth.    Castle  Rackrent,  etc.        ....  78 

Epictetus    20 

Ferguson.    Father  Tom  and  the  Pope       ...  48 

Fouque*.    Sintram   76 

Undine    84 

Franklin.    Autobiography    41 

Poor  Richard    42 

Gaskell.    Cranford    33 

Gesta  Romanorum    65 

Gilbert.    Bab  Ballads.    2  vols.        ....  96-97 

Goldsmith.    Good  Natured  Man    8 

She  Stoops  to  Conquer      .    .    .    .  14 

Vicar  of  Wakefield    34 

Gray.    Elegy  in  a  Country  Churchyard     ...  17 

Gulliver's  Voyage  to  Lilliput    80 

Gulliver's  Voyage  to  Brobdingnag         .    .    .    .  81 

Gulliver's  Voyage  to  Laputa    82 

Gulliver's  Voyage  to  the  Houyhnhnms       ...  83 

Ideals  of  the  Republic    30 

Irving.    Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow         ....  28 

Old  Christmas    75 

Rip  Van  Winkle    29 

Sketch  Book.  2  vols  55~56 


ORDER 
NUMBER 

James  I  of  England.    Counterblaste  to  Tobacco.  73 


Johnson.    Rasselas    36 

Keats.    Endymion    87 

Eve  of  St.  Agnes    26 

Lamb.    Essays  of  Elia.    2  vols  61-62 

Wit  and  Wisdom    38 

Lover.    Barney  O'Reirdon,  etc.    79 

Lowell.    Fable  for  Critics    68 

Macaulay.    Lays  of  Ancient  Rome       ....  19 

Marcus  Aurelius.    Thoughts    21 

Michael  Angelo.    Sonnets  of    53 

Milton.    Areopagitica    72 

L'Allegro  and  II  Penseroso      ....  11 

Munchausen.    Travels    39 

Omar  Khayyam.    Rubaiyat    47 

Ouida.    Dog  of  Flanders    118 

Pascal.    Thoughts   89 

Pater.    Child  in  the  House   51 

Penn.    Fruits  of  Solitude.    2  vols.       .    .    .  91-92 

Plato.    Apology  of  Socrates    59 

The  Pha;do    60 

Poe.    Gold  Bug    1 

Poems    52 

Rochefoucauld.    Maxims    117 

Roosevelt.    True  Americanism    70 

Rossetti.    Blessed  Damozel   45 

House  of  Life     .    .    0   18 

Ruskin.    Crown  of  Wild  Olive   88 

Ideas  of  Truth   25 

King  of  the  Golden  River      .    .    .    .  27 

Sesame  and  Lilies    22 


ORDER 
NUMBER 

Shakespeare.    As  You  Like  It   108 

Hamlet    113 

Julius  Caesar    11 1 

Macbeth    112 

Merchant  of  Venice        ....  107 

Midsummer  Night's  Dream     .    .  106 

Much  Ado  About  Nothing       .    .  105 

Romeo  and  Juliet   110 

Sonnets    37 

Tempest    104 

Twelfth  Night       ......  109 

Sheridan.    Rivals      .    .    .    .    ,   7 

School  for  Scandal   6 

Stephen.    Robert  Louis  Stevenson        ....  57 

Stevenson.    Virginibus  Puerisque         ....  69 

Will  o'  the  Mill    86 

Tennyson.    In  Memoriam    93 

Princess    50 

Thackeray.    Charity  and  Humor          ....  13 

Novels  by  Eminent  Hands     ...  32 

Rose  and  the  Ring    23 

Winthrop.    Love  and  Skates    49 

Word  for  the  Day    71 

Zschokke.    Tales    35 


G.  P.  Putnams's  Sons 

New  YorK  and  London 


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